Florida sits in 5th place heading into the final round tomorrow of the East Lansing Regional with the top-5 teams earn a spot at the NCAA Championship.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Freshman Inès Archer led the Florida women’s golf team with a bogey-free 2-under 70 in round two of the East Lansing Regional on Tuesday. The Gators are in fifth heading into the final round tomorrow.
UF had a round two score of 289 (+1), producing an overall tournament total of 576 (E) at Forest Akers West Golf Course. It will be a tight race in the final 18 holes as six or less shots separate the next four teams in USC (-6), Northwestern (-4), Pepperdine (-3) and host Michigan State (-1). Then behind the Gators features Denver (+3), Kentucky (+4) and Oklahoma State (+4).
The top-5 teams at the end of play tomorrow advance to the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa from May 17-22 in Carlsbad, Calif. The Gators tee off the final 18 holes tomorrow at 9 a.m. and are paired with Michigan State and Denver.
Teeing off on her birthday, Archer recorded her second consecutive under par round of the event with a bogey-free 70 (-2). She is tied for 5th at 3-under through 36 holes and has made 27 pars, six birdies and only three bogeys. The freshman hasn’t made a bogey in her last 24 straight holes. Her two birdies on five (par-4, 316) and seven (par-3, 145) were part of a five-under combined stretch from the Gators.
Subbing in for Florida today was freshman Sophie Stevens. The Highland, Mich. native, gave a strong round of even-par 72. She battled back from a 2-over mark on the turn and bogey on her 10th hole with a stretch of birdie-par-birdie-par-birdie-par-par to end her first round even. Her birdie on hole two (par-4, 384) was only one of two on the day in the field as the hole location averaged +0.55 for the hardest hole in round two.
Two other UF golfers are in the top-25 with Maisie Filler (T14, E) and Jackie Lucena (T24, +2). After a double-bogey on her second hole, Filler bounced back to shoot a 1-over 73 today as Lucena was just a shot back with a 2-over 74 in round two.
The third first-year Gator in the lineup was Paula Francisco. She carded a 74 (+2) and is just a shot back out of the top-25 in T32.
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